Fence post driver and puller



June 22, 1954 c, NICHQLS 2,681,789

FENCE POST DRIVER AND FULLER Filed Oct. 3, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 22,1954 M, MCHOLS 2,681,789

} FENCE POST DRIVER AND FULLER Filed Oct. 3, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1o 716 a I Patented June 22, 1954 UNITED STATES PATE N T 0F F I CrE FENCE POST DRIVER AND PULIJER Merrill 0. Nichols, Fontanelle, Iowa Application October 3, 1951, Serial No. 249,435

4 Claims.

M invention relates to improvements in fence post drivers and pullers.

Driving fence posts on the farm has always been hard work. On the relatively large farms that are now common, the fence rows constitute many, many feet in length. When driving these posts with hand equipment, such as sledge hammers or heavy mallets, there is a tendency to peen and even split the ends of the posts as they are being driven. Furthermore, when the posts are set manually, it is necessary either to have .two people to carry on the job or to set the posts in pre-dug holes. In the event the posts are driven there is a considerable period of time during the driving of each post when there is little or nothing for the second man to do. During these times of relativel high labor costs, one cannoteasily afford to pay for non-working help. The other horn of the dilemma is not any more attractive.

If post holes must be dug, each post will require considerable time and effort to place it securely in the ground. In addition to the difilculties already pointed. out, it is customary to place fence post in the ground so that their longitudinal axis is perpendicular to a level plane. Only by so inserting the posts can the most effective fence be constructed. In addition to the utility of so setting the posts, there is the psychological benefit'of a better looking fence. When driving posts manually it is onl the skilled worker who can sink a post so it is perpendicular to a level plane.

Recently, furthermore, the various agricultural schools in the United States have been recommending that fence rows be moved periodically.

If the farmer is to follow this recommendation from the experts, it is necessary that he pullpas well as drive, considerable number of fence posts. With the need for pulling fence posts comes an entirely diiierent problem which is that of exerting a relatively strong upward pull or of digging around each post so as to loosen it. Here again manual methods result in the expending of enormous physical ener y and a great waste of time. It is obvious also that the difilculties of driving fence posts are multiplied by the need for moving fence rows. I have developed an attachment for prime movers which will utilize the mechanicalst-rength of the, machine to do all of this work.

In view of the foregoing difiiculties, therefore, it is the principal object of my invention to provide a single device that can be used to either pull or drive a fence post.

A further object of my invention is to provide a fence post puller and driver of the above class that is adapted for use on a tractor or the like with.

.Still another objectof this invention is to provide a tractor mounted fence post driver and puller that will exert a force perpendicular to the horizontal even though the tractor be on uneven ground at'the post site.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a fence post driver and puller that is capable of setting and pulling fenceposts of varying lengths.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a device having the :above described characteristics that requires no tools fOr attaching to or detaching from a fence post.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled inthe-art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and-combination of the various parts of the device, wherebythe objects contemplated are attainedas hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig, 1 is an enlarged perspective view of my new fence post driver and puller ready for at tachrnentto a, tractor or the like,

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of my invention showing it mounted one tractor and engaging a metal fence Dost preparatory to driving it into theground,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged top plan view of this device as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is aside elevational view of this invention showing it engaging a metal post preparatory to pulling itfrom the ground,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 5, but showing this device adapted for use on wooden posts, and

Fig. 6 is a crosssectional view taken on the line 66 ,of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings I show the rear portion of a tractor chassis I!) (Fig. 2) and one of therear tractor wheels .I 2 to more fully illustrate the manner in which .m invention is used. A pair of fluid pressure hose lines I4 are connected to a .sourceof fluid pressure (not shown) associated with the tractor engine and a suitable manually operated control valve 16 is provided for the hose lines M. An elongated rigid metal inverted L-shaped supporting bar bracket I8 is secured at its bottom in any suitable manner to the rear chassis portion If) so that the upper in verted L-portion 20 extend perpendicularly therefrom and 'to'the rear. The free end of the 3 portion 26! is provided with a transverse opening 22 (Fig. 4).

A double acting hydraulic cylinder 24 with the plunger rod 26 on one end has a boss member 28 extending longitudinally from the other end. This cylinder 24 is mounted to the bracket portion 28 by extending the boss 28 upwardly through the opening 22 and securing it therein by any suitable means such as the nut 30 so that the cylinder is in a vertical plane as shown. The opening 22 is larger than the boss 28 to provide a loose fit and the nut 30 is arranged only as a stop means to keep the boss 23 from slipping from the opening 22 and is not tightened against the bracket portion 20. This allows the cylinder 2% some freedom in a lateral swinging movement so that it will hang perpendicular to the horizontal, even though the tractor is on uneven ground. The broken lines for the bracket IS in Fig. 2 illustrate this feature by showing a position of this bracket if the tractor were resting on an upward slope. It will also be understood that the boss 28 should be long enough to allow a vertical movement of the bracket portion 29 between the top of the cylinder 24 and underside of the nut 36 corresponding to the lateral movement of the vertical portion of the bracket 18. Thus, in effect, the cylinder 24 is to a certain extent swingably depending from the bracket support portion 20.

Secured to the bottom of the cylinder 24 and extending rearwardly therefrom at right angles is a brace member 32. On the outer end of this brace 32 is an arcuate or U-shaped fence post guide 34 which may be integral therewith or separately affixed such as by Welding or the like. Intermediate the guide bar 34 and cylinder 24 is a vertical collar or rod guide 36 that is integrally formed with the brace 32. To the free end of the plunger 25 I have secured a rigid block 33, and also to this block a rod member All is secured at its bottom so as to extend upwardly through the collar member 36 and be slidable therein. Preferably the rod 48 is substantially of the same length as the plunger Eli-and when arranged as described, it moves with the plunger. The support for this rod 46 offered by the collar 36 serves to relieve side pressure on the rod 26 and the usual packing through which it travels.

A grappling member 42 is formed by bending a metal bar or angle iron into a G-shape and has a pair of metal strap members M secured thereto by welding or the like, so as to extend outwardly from one side in parallel spaced relationship to form a clevis as shown in Fig. 1. The strap members M extend respectively at opposite sides of the rod ti and are vertically pivotally secured at their ends to the block 38 by means of bolts and nut or a pin 46 or the like. The hose lines :4 are secured respectively to the top and bottom or" the cylinder 25 in a well known manner for providing two way action against the plunger rod 26.

In operation of this device after the tractor has been located at the post site, the grapple member 42 is engaged with'a post 48 or 50 as follows. It can be maneuvered so that the post will pass sidewise through the open side of the .C-shaped grapple and for pullinga post this method of engagement must be used if the top of the post is higher than the grapple when the plunger is fully retracted. If the post is not too high, however, the grapple may be dropped over the top by extending the plunger and if this is done, the grapple 'must of course be held horizontal to keep it from binding until it has reached the desired position. For driving a post for example, where there Was no post before, it is only necessary to pass the post through the grapple and position it on the ground. Once the grapple has been arranged on the post movement of the plunger downwardly (Fig. 2) or upwardly (Fig. 4) will cause the grapple to pivot on the pin 46 in the opposite direction respectively and effect a binding action on the post. Obviously the arcuate grappling member must be freely pivotable in at least a substantially vertical plane. Since the post serves to hold the grappling member as well as the grappling member holding the post, however, the movement of the grappling member need not be limited to swinging in a vertical plane. The continued movement of the plunger under hydraulic pressure then will drive or pull the post accordingly, and in this operation the upper portion of the post will lean against and be guided by the guide member 34. It will be understood that the tractor itself acts as the resistance force to the resistance of the ground through which the post moves.

In Fig. 5 I show a wooden post which is distinguishable from the metal post 48 and is of a larger diameter, and for using this device on wooden posts, it is only necessary to construct the grapple hook 42 and post guide 34 of suitable dimensions to be usable thereon in the same manner as described above. In this respect it is observed that no change in the shape of the grappling member is necessary as its arcuate interior allows it to serve with equal efiiciency on flange type posts or round ones.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my fence post driver and puller without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. In combination with a tractor or the like having a source of hydraulic pressure, a support brace mounted on said tractor, a hydraulic cylinder swingably depending from said support member, a plunger rod in said cylinder extensible and retractable at the bottom thereof, a brace member on said cylinder, a vertical collar integral with said brace member, a block member secured to the outer end of said plunger rod, a rod member secured at one end to said block member and having its other end slidably ex tending through said collar, a grappling member pivotally secured to said block member, and said cylinder connected to said hydraulic pressure whereby said plunger rod is movable in two vertical directions respectively.

2. In a fence post driver and puller, a support member, a two way hydraulic cylinder swinga- 'bly depending from said support member and having a movable plunger rod that moves downwardly when being extended and upwardly when being retracted, a brace member on said cylinder, a vertical collar integral with said brace member, a post guide member secured to said collar, a block member secured to the outer end of said plunger rod, a rod member secured at one end to said block member and having its other end slidably extending through said collar, a grappling member pivotally secured to said block member, and said cylinder having means whereby it can be connected to a source of fluid pressure.

3. In combination with a tractor or the like having a source of hydraulic pressure, a support brace mounted on said tractor, a hydraulic cylinder swingably depending from said support memher, a plunger rod in said cylinder extensible and retractable at the bottom thereof, a vertical collar secured to said cylinder, a rod member secured at one end to the outer end of said plunger rod and having its other end slidably extending through said collar, a grappling member pivotally secured to said plunger rod, and said cylinder connected to said hydraulic pressure whereby said plunger rod is movable in two vertical directions respectively.

4. In combination with a tractor or the like having a source of hydraulic pressure, a support brace mounted on said tractor, a hydraulic cylinder swingably depending from said support member, a plunger rod in said cylinder extensible and 6 retractable at the bottom thereof, a vertical collar secured to said cylinder, a block member secured to the outer end of said plunger rod, a rod member secured at one end to said block member and having its other end slidably extending through said collar, a grappling member pivotally secured to said block member, and said cylinder connected to said hydraulic pressure whereby said plunger rod is movable in. two verti- 10 cal directions respectively.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,551,897 Notestein May 8, 1951 2,572,339 Helm Oct. 23, 1951 2,620,160 Ray Dec. 2, 1952 2,634,092 Lindquist Apr. '7, 1953 

